Selected Essays of Ke Ling

Author: Ke Ling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Millions of essays, millions of attitudes toward life, embodying the sentiments of masters as they contemplate nature and experience life and death. Life is like the changing seasons, with flowers blooming and fading, yet the truths within are etched into these pages. Reading this book, you will linger among the masterpieces of renowned writers, savoring the love of family and the care of friends. A force of goodness will nourish the parched soul and invigorate the withering life. Together, we share the exquisite and immortal works, feeling the beauty through the pen of the masters. The moment you open this book becomes a part of your life, enjoying the joy of reading, the joy of perception, and the joy of life. Each selected essay is a household name, a masterpiece of language and literature. Throughout history, how many exquisite essays, like pearls, have shone brilliantly! The "Hundred Flowers Series of Essays" may not claim to have strung them into a necklace, but here they are no longer scattered pearls, making them more accessible for reading and appreciation. The selected essays focus on lyrical and narrative prose; their themes range from society and life to parting and flowers. The styles are both grand and unrestrained, as well as subtle and reserved. The series is vast in its scope, embracing and including all, and though it may not be called a "Treasure Collection," the works included still radiate brilliance and inspiration. The "Hundred Flowers Series of Essays" includes the "Ancient Essays Series," "Modern Essays Series," and "Contemporary Essays Series," all published in separate volumes, each featuring essays by different authors. Ancient Chinese prose has a long and rich history, with deep roots and lush branches. Like poetry, it is one of the most important and distinctive forms of ancient Chinese literature, as well as a splendid cultural treasure trove in the history of human civilization. To promote the excellent culture of the Chinese nation, inherit the fine traditions of ancient prose, and foster the prosperity and improvement of contemporary prose creation, as well as provide readers with reference and appreciation, this "Series of Ancient Chinese Essays" has been compiled as a part of the "Hundred Flowers Series of Essays." The scope of the prose genre has evolved over time, differing between ancient and modern periods. This series primarily selects essays with strong literary qualities, such as lyrical and descriptive prose. The selected authors range from the pre-Qin period to the Qing Dynasty, with each author's works compiled in separate volumes. The order of essays in each book is generally based on the chronological order of their composition, allowing readers to understand the development and evolution of prose creation. Each book in the series consists of two parts: one is an essay, which, in addition to introducing the author's life and literary activities, focuses on analyzing and reviewing their prose creation philosophy, especially artistic characteristics, the development of their prose writing, and its influence. The other is the prose itself, with each essay accompanied by a title explanation and annotations. The essay part aims to complement and enhance the prose part, helping readers achieve a rational understanding of the selected essays through the essays, while the selected essays deepen readers' intuitive understanding of the essays. This mutual reinforcement makes the series not only a collection of selected essays for reading but also, to some extent, a study of the authors and even a history of ancient Chinese prose, distinct from general prose anthologies and ordinary histories of ancient prose, with its unique features. Each selected essay in the series includes representative and outstanding works of the authors, as well as essays from different periods, themes, and styles to reflect the development of the author's prose writing. The title explanations not only interpret relevant words, specialized terms, and provide information on writing time and sources but also offer concise reviews of the background, ideological value, artistic characteristics, and artistic techniques of the works. The annotations primarily clarify difficult characters, words, allusions, official titles, artifacts, names, and places. For important and uniquely used terms, references or examples are cited to help readers not only understand the "what" but also the "why." This book includes works such as "Looking for Spring," "Roadside Pavilion," "The Fall of a Literary Giant," "Dreaming in Suzhou," "The Flower of Evil," "Scenes on a Rainy Street," "I Want to Accuse," and "In Memory of Xiling."